Hillicon Valley: Twitter chief faces GOP anger over bias | DOJ convenes meeting on bias claims | Rubio clashes with Alex Jones | DHS chief urges lawmakers to pass cyber bill | Sanders bill takes aim at Amazon

View in Browser     Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill's newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Welcome! Follow the cyber team, Olivia Beavers (@olivia_beavers) and Jacqueline Thomsen (@jacq_thomsen), and the tech team, Harper Neidig (@hneidig) and Ali Breland (@alibreland). And CLICK HERE to subscribe to our newsletter.   LONG DAY FOR DORSEY: House Republicans grilled Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Wednesday during a hearing on alleged bias against conservatives in social media, capping a marathon day of testimony for the Silicon Valley executive. Dorsey told lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee that Twitter did not intentionally censor conservative voices and that any problems with their algorithms were not the result of political bias. "I want to start by making something clear: we don't consider political viewpoints, perspectives, or party affiliation in any of our policies or enforcement decisions. Period. Impartiality is our guiding principle," Dorsey said, reading his statement from his phone. But those denials did little to assuage GOP concerns and Republicans used the hearing to directly confront Dorsey about their allegations. "It should now be quite clear that even well-intentioned algorithms can have unintended consequences," said House Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.). "Prominent Republicans, including multiple Members of Congress and the chairwoman of the Republican Party have seen their Twitter presences temporarily minimized in recent months, due to what you have claimed was a mistake in the algorithm," he continued. Dorsey testified at two back-to-back hearings Wednesday, first before the Senate Intelligence Committee alongside Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg on foreign influence operations, and then before the House panel on bias. The hearings come as Republicans are stepping up their attacks on Silicon Valley over what they see as efforts to silence conservative viewpoints. The allegations about anti-conservative bias have yet to be proven, but the attacks have rattled Silicon Valley over the prospect of new regulatory actions. Read more here.   DOJ SET SIGHTS ON SILICON VALLEY: Attorney General Jeff Sessions has scheduled a meeting with state attorneys general in September to discuss a "growing concern" that tech companies may be "intentionally stifling" the free flow of ideas on their platforms. In a statement issued right after executives from Facebook and Twitter finished testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Department of Justice (DOJ) also suggested that the platforms were running afoul of antitrust laws. "The Attorney General has convened a meeting with a number of state attorneys general this month to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms," DOJ spokesman Devin O'Malley said in a statement issued near the end of the congressional hearing. President Trump and conservative House Republicans have repeatedly aired complaints about bias against conservatives on Facebook, Twitter, Google and other social media platforms. Those companies though have denied censoring conservative speech. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday morning on efforts to combat foreign influence operations on their platforms. Dorsey later testified before a House panel on the claims of anti-conservative bias. Read more here.   MORE FROM OUR COVERAGE OF TODAY'S HEARINGS: -Rubio, Alex Jones clash: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Alex Jones clashed Wednesday outside a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, with Rubio threatening to take care of Jones after the Infowars host touched his shoulder. When Jones reached out to touch Rubio's shoulder, the senator glared at Jones, warning him not to touch him again in front of a gaggle of reporters with cameras and notebooks. Read more here.   -Lawmakers throw shade at Google: Lawmakers on Wednesday grilled top executives from Facebook and Twitter about their efforts to prevent foreign governments from influencing U.S. politics, but they saved their harshest criticism for Google and its decision not to send a top representative to testify on Capitol Hill. "I'm deeply disappointed that Google – one of the most influential digital platforms in the world – chose not to send its own top corporate leadership to engage this committee," said Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which hosted Wednesday's hearing. "Because I know our members have a series of difficult questions about structural vulnerabilities on a number of Google's platforms that we will need answered." Read more here.   -Conservatives lash out at McCarthy: House conservatives are blaming Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for Twitter's decision to have its founder publicly testify before the Energy and Commerce Committee instead of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where a number of conservative members sit. The conservative Freedom Caucus and its allies argued that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was likely to get a more favorable reception from the Energy and Commerce panel in comparison to Oversight, which counts Freedom Caucus leaders Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) among its members. "The majority leader talks tough on tech then sends [Dorsey] to the friendly confines of the industry-friendly Energy & Commerce Committee," Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who says he has been unfairly censored on social media, told The Hill. Read more here.   HITTING BACK HARDER: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen issued a warning on cyber threats from foreign countries on Wednesday, saying the U.S.'s response to actors needs to be "more than commensurate." "By the time that a country is attacking civilian networks, civilian assets, it's not a fair fight," Nielsen said during an event at George Washington University. "It's not how the international world has created norms and standards. And I don't think that it should be commensurate, I think it should be more." The Department of Homeland Security chief added that the federal government has to move to attribute cyberattacks faster in order to hand down retribution, noting that the actions could be public or "unseen." Nielsen also said during prepared remarks that the U.S. "will no long naively assume that a nation state with cyber capabilities chooses not to use them." "We will no longer tolerate the threat of our data. We will no longer stand idly by while our networks are penetrated exploited or held hostage," she said. "Instead we will respond, and we will respond decisively."  Read more here.   A CYBERATTACK PANDEMIC: Nielsen also urged lawmakers to pass legislation to reorganize a DHS cyber division as a full-fledged agency as the measure struggles to gain support in the Senate. Nielsen said that cyber threats have moved from an "epidemic" to a "pandemic," and called on Congress to pass legislation to rename DHS's National Protection and Programs Directorate, or NPPD, as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Nielsen said that DHS lacks the ability to organize itself to fully respond to those seeking assistance or to collaborate on a variety of cyber issues. "We have to get it done," she said, adding that DHS "wasn't built for a digital pandemic." Read more here.   SANDERS INTRODUCES STOP BEZOS ACT: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is escalating his feud with Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, introducing a new bill that would charge big companies for the federal welfare programs that support their low-wage workers. Sanders on Wednesday introduced the bill, which is named the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act, or Stop BEZOS Act. "At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, when the 3 wealthiest people in America own more wealth than the bottom 50 percent and when 52 percent of all new income goes to the top one percent, the American people are tired of subsidizing multi-billionaires who own some of the largest and most profitable corporations in America," Sanders said in a statement. Sanders cited a report by the nonprofit New Food Economy suggesting that a third of Amazon employees in Arizona -- and thousands in other states -- rely on food stamps. R Read more here.   HOUSE TAKES ON CYBER: The House passed a pair of cybersecurity bills on Tuesday, including bipartisan legislation to codify a key cybersecurity program at DHS. The bill grants Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen the ability to establish the Continuous Diagnostics Mitigation (CDM) program at the agency. The program aims to protect federal networks from cyberattacks. This bill would bring CDM into the second of its four phases of implementation, after DHS officials spent the past few years looking at the software utilized on federal networks and looking for potential vulnerabilities. DHS initially started the CDM program in 2012 in an effort to better protect federal networks from cyberattacks. Lawmakers also approved a bill that would allow the Homeland Security secretary to block the agency from working with foreign tech companies whose products or services are believed to pose a potential threat to the U.S. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), would give the DHS chief the authority to review and ban agreements with foreign contractors over supply chain concerns. Lawmakers and experts fear that the technology or software included in the imported products could be manipulated by hackers for future cyberattacks. The agency would typically be required to notify contractors about a ban, and give them the opportunity to object to the measure or make changes to address DHS's concerns. However, that requirement would be dropped if the contractor was believed to pose a significant enough threat. The measure comes after federal officials banned or raised concerns over products from foreign firms like Russia's Kaspersky Labs and China's ZTE and Huawei.   NAME AND SHAME: The House also signed off on a bill Wednesday that would implement government-wide rules to name and sanction actors who assist with nation-state-sponsored cyberattacks against the U.S. The legislation, which passed by a voice vote, would direct President Trump to implement sanctions against those who assist in carrying out cyberattacks on the U.S. The measure would allow him to skip out on the sanctions if doing so is in the country's best interest. According to the legislation, the president would be required to label foreign individuals or entities who have "knowingly materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support" in cyberattacks targeting the U.S. as critical cyber threat actors. Trump would be directed to publish the threat actors in the federal register, with the exception of those determined to remain secret for national security or law enforcement purposes. The names would still be shared with Congress. The president would also be required to slap sanctions on those threat actors under the new legislation, which features a list of possible economic penalties that could be imposed.  Read more here.   TECH FILLS IN ELECTION SECURITY GAP: Private companies are stepping up to offer cybersecurity programs for midterm campaigns as Congress stalls on passing election security legislation. Microsoft is the most prominent name, unveiling a free cybersecurity program in August after the company revealed it had detected Russian hackers who appeared to target a pair of conservative think tanks. The company is joining a broad list of firms providing free or discounted security services, such as McAfee, Cloudflare and most recently Valimail, which is offering its anti-fraud email service to campaigns. Officials at companies said they felt obligated to step up to the plate and offer services that election officials or campaigns might otherwise not have access to -- shortcomings that have been widely highlighted ahead of November's midterm elections. Microsoft President Brad Smith cited the importance of protecting the democratic process in a blog post announcing the companies' free election-security programs in August. "While cybersecurity starts with Microsoft and other companies in the tech sector, it's ultimately a shared responsibility with customers and governments around the world," Smith wrote.  Read more here.   ICYMI: Twitter said President Trump isn't exempt from being banned from the site. Jeff Bezos made his first major political contribution to a super PAC promoting military veteran candidates Scandal-ridden Theranos announced that it will formally dissolve   A LIGHTER TWITTER CLICK: Today in a nutshell.   AN OP-ED TO CHEW ON: Trump should look local to close the skills gap.   NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB: New report calls fake check scams an "exploding epidemic" (CBS News) Alex Jones said bans would strengthen him. He was wrong. (The New York Times) This group posed as Russian trolls and bought political ads on Google. It was easy. (BuzzFeed News) Google researchers say the tech industry has contributed to an 'attention crisis.' (The Washington Post) Sweden's official Twitter account will no longer be run by random Swedes (The Verge) Pew's new study on American's relationship with Facebook. (Pew)         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Technology Newsletters     Forward Technology Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2018 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Health Care: Judge presses ObamaCare supporters during oral arguments | Kavanaugh says Roe v. Wade has been 'reaffirmed many times' | Dems hold up opioids bill

View in Browser     Welcome to Wednesday's edition of Overnight Health Care.   It was a big day for ObamaCare in the courts, as a federal judge in Texas heard oral arguments in a lawsuit that could result in the end of the law's protections for people with pre-existing conditions. More on that below... but first...   Brett Kavanaugh, the man who could ultimately hear arguments in the ObamaCare case if it reaches the Supreme Court, faced opening rounds of questions from senators in his nomination hearing. Kavanaugh declined to answer questions from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) about pre-existing condition protections, saying he wouldn't speculate on hypotheticals, or comment on cases that he could potentially rule on.   Kavanaugh did answer questions about abortion. He said Roe v. Wade has been "reaffirmed many times" and that it is settled precedent. "I understand the importance the people attach to the Roe v. Wade decision," Kavanaugh said. "I don't live in a bubble. I live in the real world." However, Democrats allege that "settled law" does not mean that Kavanaugh won't rule with the other conservative justices to overturn the precedent if a case challenging it comes to the Supreme Court. "Roe v. Wade is 'settled law' only until five Republican Supreme Court Justices overturn it. Brett Kavanaugh's statements should not convince anyone that he would uphold Roe," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) tweeted.   CLICK HERE to subscribe to our newsletter.   Dems hold up opioids bill. Democrats are objecting to a bill in the Senate aimed at curbing the opioid crisis because of a GOP provision they say is an earmark for one PhRMA-funded advocacy group. One of the biggest issues holding up an agreement on the bill, according to a source familiar with the issue, is a provision added by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) that Democrats say would only benefit the Addiction Policy Forum, an advocacy group funded by PhRMA. The provision would authorize the U.S. attorney general to make grants to entities that focus on addiction and substance use disorders and meet other criteria. But the Addiction Policy Forum is the only group that meets that criteria, essentially making the provision an "earmark" for the group, Democrats argue. Cornyn added the provision after the bill passed out of committee, the source said. Democrats are insisting the provision is removed before the Senate votes on the bill, and won't accept assurances from some Republicans that it will be fixed in conference. Read more here. Why it matters: Republicans had hoped the bill would get a vote in the Senate before Labor Day. McConnell then said last week it could come for a vote this week. But there are still disagreements. Context: The House passed its opioid bill in June, and they're getting inpatient across the Capitol. Any bill that passes the Senate still has to be conferenced with the House bill before going to the president for a signature. But: Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) did sound an optimistic note Wednesday, telling reporters there were only two outstanding issues on the bill that he hoped to resolve soon.   Meanwhile, in Texas... Judge presses ObamaCare supporters in court. A judge appeared skeptical of ObamaCare supporters' arguments in court in Texas on Wednesday in a closely watched case on the future of the law. But, bigger picture: Legal experts, including top conservative ones, highly doubt this case will ultimately succeed in higher courts. A bigger impact could be on the midterm elections, where Democrats are hammering Republicans for supporting the case and possibly taking away coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. "If necessary we're ready to go to the appellate court," a spokesperson for the California Department of Justice, which defended the health law in court, told The Hill on Wednesday, an acknowledgement that they could lose on the lower level. What's the case about? Texas and the other GOP-led states argue that ObamaCare's individual mandate can now no longer be upheld as a tax since Congress eliminated the penalty for violating it as part of the tax law last year. The challengers argue that because the individual mandate is unconstitutional, all of the rest of ObamaCare should be struck down too. The Trump administration has agreed in part, saying the mandate and protections for people with pre-existing conditions should be struck down because those protections are inseparable from the mandate. A focus of the arguments Wednesday was on the question of whether the mandate could be separated from the rest of the law, or whether other provisions must be struck down with it. O'Connor expressed skepticism that the pre-existing condition protections could be separated, saying past judges to examine the issue had found those sections inseparable. "Every single judge ... concluded this," O'Connor said, according to Politico. Read more here.   McConnell: No plan to try again on ObamaCare repeal soon. Jon Kyl was officially sworn in as the newest senator from Arizona on Wednesday, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signaled to reporters that he doesn't have any plans to move again this year to repeal ObamaCare, even though Kyl might give Republicans a better chance of success. Senate Republicans view Kyl as someone more likely to vote with GOP leaders on health care reform legislation than was late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the maverick whom Kyl replaced after his death. McCain's vote ultimately axed the 2017 GOP effort to repeal ObamaCare. Moderate Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) also voted no. Similar math: Aside from the politics of the House and Senate needing to pass a shell reconciliation budget, the numbers are still the same. Democrats gained an extra member when Doug Jones won the Senate race in Alabama in December, so if Murkowski and Collins did not change their votes, repeal would still be dead. But maybe: McConnell did not explicitly rule out moving an ObamaCare repeal in the lame duck session after the election but his answer didn't indicate that he's giving it serious thought. Political handicappers give Democrats a good chance of taking back control of the House in the midterms, which would dash any GOP hopes of repealing ObamaCare during the remainder of President Trump's first term in office. Read more on his comments here   Federal judge permanently blocks Texas fetal burial law In a victory for abortion advocates, a federal judge on Wednesday blocked a Texas law that would require the burial or cremation of any fetal remains. U.S. District Judge David Ezra wrote in his ruling issuing the permanent injunction that the law would cause a "near catastrophic" failure of the health-care system for women of childbearing age in Texas. Ezra, who was appointed by President Reagan, wrote in his decision that the measure "would be a violation of a woman's right to obtain a legal abortion under the law as it stands today." What the law does: Passed in 2017, the law would have required health-care facilities to bury or cremate fetal remains -- whether they are the result of an abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth or an ectopic pregnancy -- regardless of a patients' wishes. Supporters of abortion rights argue the law is an attempt to punish women for getting abortions. Next step: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said the state would appeal. Read more here.   What we're reading: Justice Department nearing antitrust approval of health mergers combining CVS-Aetna, Cigna-Express Scripts (The Wall Street Journal) Giuliani's consulting firm helped halt Purdue opioid investigation in Florida (Kaiser Health News) State by state: Medicaid expansion question fuels Georgia governor's race (The Atlanta Journal - Constitution) Rate decreases coming to New Mexico health exchange (Associated Press) Blue Cross to contribute $5 million to Rhode Island fund for mental health care (Rhode Island Public Radio)     The Hill event Join us Wednesday, September 12 for "A Healthy Start: Infant and Early Childhood Nutrition," featuring Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service Brandon Lipps. Editor in Chief Bob Cusack will sit down with the headliners to discuss maternal, infant, and early childhood nutrition, and what steps can be taken to establish healthier eating patterns across all communities. RSVP Here.         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Healthcare Newsletters     Forward Healthcare Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2018 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

On The Money: Trump revives shutdown threat over border wall | Trump, Trudeau dig in on NAFTA talks | House GOP leaders plan 'tax cut 2.0' vote this month | Sanders bill targets Amazon

View in your browser     Happy Wednesday and welcome back to On The Money, which is not written by an anonymous senior administration official. I'm Sylvan Lane, and here's your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. See something I missed? Let me know at slane@thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://bit.ly/1NxxW2N. Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@thehill.com, vneedham@thehill.com, njagoda@thehill.com and nelis@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane, @VickofTheHill, @NJagoda and @NivElis.   THE BIG DEAL--Will he or won't he? Trump threatens border-wall shutdown again: Trump on Wednesday again threatened to shut down the government at the end of the month, days after indicating that he wanted to avoid such a move. "If it happens it happens. If it's about border security, I'm willing to do anything," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. Trump was heading into a meeting to discuss spending with congressional leaders, who were hoping to dissuade Trump from considering a shutdown ahead of November's midterm election. While Trump had threatened to shut down the government if Congress failed to adequately fund his proposed border wall earlier in the year, in recent days he had seemed to back off the threat. "I don't like the idea of shutdowns," Trump said in a Sunday interview with The Daily Caller published earlier Wednesday. "I don't see even myself or anybody else closing down the country right now," he added. Trump's comments came soon after a top White House official and congressional leaders sought to downplay the threat of shutdown weeks before the midterm election. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney personally assured lawmakers in the conservative Republican Study Committee that Trump did not want to shut down the government, according to sources in the room.   House Republicans though say they are confident there won't be a shutdown. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said during a Wednesday press conference that Trump is aware that "not in anyone's interest, and he knows that." Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) said he thinks the president made the remarks to put pressure on Congress to act, adding there is "no question" he believes shutting down the government is a bad idea. "I highly doubt it's going to happen," Curbelo told reporters. "I think he likes to say things like that, but I highly doubt it's going to happen," he told reporters.   ON TAP TOMORROW The Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing on "Outside Perspectives on Russia Sanctions: Current Effectiveness and Potential for Next Steps," 10 a.m. House Financial Services Committee: Hearing entitled "A Failure to Act: How a Decade without GSE Reform Has Once Again Put Taxpayers at Risk," 10 a.m. The American Enterprise Institute and Urban Institute host an event entitled "What comes next? A look at student borrowers in default," 1 p.m.   LEADING THE DAY Trump, Trudeau dig in as NAFTA talks resume: The U.S. and Canada resumed negotiations Wednesday to hammer out the final details of an updated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) before an end of September deadline. The two major trading partners spent most of last week trying to whittle down and resolve the toughest issues ahead, such as more U.S. market access to Canadian dairy, intellectual property protections and dispute settlement rules. Before heading in to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters that the U.S. and Canada had worked over the weekend and she was looking forward to constructive talks. Freeland addressed concerns that Canada was being left behind, saying: "We are back, as we said we would be last week." But despite the public optimism, negotiators face a tough task ahead. The Hill's Vicki Needham tell us why here.  Trump is embarking on a high-stakes gamble, cutting a deal with Mexico first, in hopes of forcing Canada to acquiesce. Last week, Trump notified Congress of his plans to sign a trade deal with Mexico, replacing NAFTA. Trump lashed out at Canada after talks last week failed to yield a final agreement, tweeting that "there is no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal." Trudeau is also digging in and vowing that Canada won't be pressured into a deal, saying "We're going to continue to be constructive and thoughtful and focused on getting to the right deal around the table but we're not going to accept that we should have to sign a bad deal just because the president wants it."   House GOP leaders say 'tax cuts 2.0' vote will happen this month: House GOP leaders insisted Wednesday that they plan to hold a floor vote this month on a second round of tax cuts, dismissing reports that they may drop such an effort. "Correct," Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told reporters when asked if there would be a floor vote in September. "On the floor," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) added. The central component of the new legislative package would be to permanently extend the tax changes for individuals from the 2017 law, but The Hill's Naomi Jagoda tells us why that could hit a snag.    Sanders bill takes aim at Amazon: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is escalating his feud with Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, introducing a new bill that would charge big companies for the federal welfare programs that support their low-wage workers. Sanders introduced the bill on Wednesday that they named the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act, or Stop BEZOS Act. "At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, when the 3 wealthiest people in America own more wealth than the bottom 50 percent and when 52 percent of all new income goes to the top one percent, the American people are tired of subsidizing multi-billionaires who own some of the largest and most profitable corporations in America," Sanders said in a statement. Sanders cited a report by the nonprofit New Food Economy suggesting that a third of Amazon employees in Arizona -- and thousands in other states -- rely on food stamps. Amazon, the senator said, paid half its workforce just $28,500 a year, or $13.67 an hour. Many other workers, he added, were hired through subcontractors, who might pay less.   GOOD TO KNOW The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report Wednesday arguing that the decline of community bank lending is due more to economic and market trends than excessive regulation, rebutting a frequent argument from bank lobbyists. The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) on Wednesday pushed back on federal data that shows wages have been stagnant or even falling, arguing that the government figures omit important information. Shares of American Express declined after the release of a media report that the FBI is investigating pricing practices at its foreign-exchange operations. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 also fell as Netflix led a steep tech sell-off, according to CNBC. Christine Lagarde said male domination of the banking industry made the collapse of Lehman Brothers more likely.   ODDS AND ENDS  Scandal-ridden health startup Theranos announced Tuesday that it will formally dissolve, just weeks after its founder was hit with federal fraud charges, The Wall Street Journal reported. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has scheduled a meeting with state attorneys general in September to discuss a "growing concern" that tech companies may be "intentionally stifling" the free flow of ideas on their platforms. The U.S. trade deficit widened for the second straight month in July and by the most since 2015 on record imports, despite President Trump's focus on lowering the trade deficit. Op-Ed: Desmond Lachman, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, argues why Argentina is running out of tools to lift its plunging currency   Join us Wednesday, September 12 for "A Healthy Start: Infant and Early Childhood Nutrition," featuring Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service Brandon Lipps. Editor in Chief Bob Cusack will sit down with the headliners to discuss maternal, infant, and early childhood nutrition, and what steps can be taken to establish healthier eating patterns across all communities. RSVP Here.           Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Finance Newsletters     Forward Finance Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2018 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.